Photoresists - The University of Oklahoma Department of
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Transcript Photoresists - The University of Oklahoma Department of
ACTFEL
Alternating Current Thin Film
Electroluminescent Lamps
Objective
Use photolithography to pattern ITO
Develop photoresist and etch ITO
Apply layers of phosphors, dielectric, and silver
Power up lamp
Troubleshoot
Preparation and Priming
Prepare the substrate (glass, with ITO):
Wash with appropriate solvent to remove any dirt
and other impurities
– Acetone, MeOH
Dry with Nitrogen
Deposit Primer
Chemical that coats the substrate and allows for
better adhesion of the resist, HMDS
Spin-Coating the Resist
Spin-coat the photoresist onto the surface of the
glass
RPM: 4500
Time: 42 sec
Produces a thin uniform layer of photoresist on the
glass surface.
Use red/amber safe light at this stage
Soft-Baking
Put on hotplate
Temperature: 115°C, Time: 5 min
Removes volatile solvents from the coating
Makes photoresist imageable
Hardens to amorphous solid
Be careful not to overbake and destroy the sensitizer
Be careful not to not soft-bake
Mask Alignment and Exposure
Photomask is a square piece of transparency printed on by a laser printer
Maximize light intensity using photo-detector
Remove all shadows from exposure area
After alignment, the photoresist is exposed to the UV lamp
Photoresist Developer
Highly pure buffered alkaline solution
Removes proper layer of photoresist upon contact or immersion
Degree of exposure affects the resolution curves of the resist
Immerse wafer in developer and swirl around for 90 seconds
Wash developed wafer with deionized water and dry with
nitrogen
Etching the ITO
Put glass in a beaker of 20% HCl, 5% HNO3
Heat beaker for 10 minutes in water bubble bath
Check for infinite resistance across The Gap
Fix Gap with razor blade if necessary
Remove wafers and wash in acetone
Dry with Nitrogen
Applying Thin Films
After the ITO is patterned the ACTFEL lamp can be made.
Each layer comes packaged separately as a thick paste (stir before using).
The thickness of each layer is controlled by using scotch tape as a spacer.
Apply scotch tape along 3-5mm on two parallel sides of the plate.
Apply the pastes
in sequence using a spatula.
Thin them by scraping a microscope slide
across the layer.
Dry and cure each layer before application of
the next
Each layer is dried in an oven at 130°C for 15
minutes.
1st phosphor
2nd dielectric
3rd conductive silver rear electrode
Cross-section of TFEL display
Applying Thin Films 2
The thin films must be applied to the substrate within
defined boundaries to avoid shorting the capacitor.
Layer Constraints
The phosphor layer should be as thin as possible
The dielectric layer should cover all of the phosphor layer and be as thin as possible
without risking a short in the capacitor.
The silver layer must not touch the ITO. Parts of the ITO layer are removed in order to
extend the silver layer to the edge of the glass. This makes it easier to connect the lamp to
a power source.
Silver Layer (Rear Electrode)
Phosphor Layer
Dielectric Layer
The black lines mark the etched ITO pattern, and are used to accurately place the scotch tape; they’re later removed with acetone.
Powering Lamps
After the thin films are dry, the lamp needs a power source.
Copper tape is used to make good contacts without damaging the lamp.
Small pieces of tape are attached to the ITO layer and the silver layer
separately.
The phosphor requires a changing electric field in order to fluoresce.
Front and back of device
A DC voltage will only produce a changing electric field in a capacitor
as it charges.
In order to produce continuous lighting an AC voltage is required.
Normal 110V 60Hz AC power can be used to light your lamp. In the lab we
use a high frequency power supply 60-2000 Hz and a few hundred volts,
which gives a brighter light.
Device with
leads on,
powered, and
in darkness.